Dharma-nature in the Soccer Match: Unity is Divine

Madhayma

Introduction

In a soccer match, scoring a goal is the fruit of the unity of a team of eleven players or eleven dharmas (Buddhist expression). Everything is technically designated as a dharma including a player. The soccer match is the unity of two opposing teams with 11 players on each side. In the entire soccer game or match, which is also a dharma, no single player can play and score a goal solitarily. All players must play interdependently or symbiotically in order to produce a victory – scoring a goal or goals. The most excellent game is played by any team if all players in the same team play non-discriminatively, and equanimously.

Non-discrimination

 Being non-discriminative and equanimous, every single player regards and treats each team-mate to be equally important in terms of a co-operative team work. In short, no player should be prejudiced emotionally against any other player in whatever manner in order not jeopardize the team performance. Thus, it is important that the team must absolutely be united. In fact, this is the underlying spirit of team unity that determines the accomplishment of the team. If any member of the same team dislikes or is personally or emotionally prejudiced against any member of his team, the unity and thus its match performance would be deficient or eroded. This usually invites defeat.

Sources of Power

A strong soccer team is one which is constructed by two essential powers. Firstly, it is the power of the integrated skills of all the players in the same team. The overall strength of the team is directly proportional to the sum total of the potentials of all the team-mates. Consequently, a professional soccer team is prepared to employ a five-star player or more players with very lucrative remuneration(s) in order to invigorate the team’s fighting power. Buddhistively worded, this is enhancing the contigent condition(s) to strengthen the team unity and prestige. Unity is divine as it always ensures superb prestige of the team. The law of nature or the nature of dharma operates thus : A united team defeats a divided team. It never functions perversely that a divided team outwits a united team. The latter is a logical paradox.

Unity is Great Perfection

Therefore, permit me to reiterate a divine or noble Truth: Unity is divine as it pervades everywhere to maintain order, equilibrium and inherent peace of becoming. Most importantly, it is characterized by accomplishment or achievement. Either micro-unity or macro-unity functions on the basis of non-dual or non-discriminative wisdom. The greatest force of unity is the one pointed concentration of playing wholeheartedly and equanimously  in the match disregarding self and others especially the noisy spectators in the process of the match. Each player plays every match wholeheartedly and equanimously without involving personal feelings about oneself and all others. When personal feeling creeps in, the illusive self or ego will spoil the game. Self or ego obstructs the flow of great perfection in any work or performance.

Love and Unity

In unity, there is absolute love of every game. In absolute love, there is absolute unity among the team-mates. Every player must love himself, his team-mates and every match to maximize team’s prestige and power. Unity ensues from this love. If the spirit of sports is applied everywhere,there will be more harmonic alliances of civilizations.

In the monotheistic religions, a faith adherent is admonished to love God. To love God is in actuality is to love the Truth of Unity. When the adherent loves God, he is, in truth, admonished to love all his neighbours – all the partners in his team, work place, personal or social life. What is inherent in love is unity; what is inherent in unity exists love. Whoever loves oneself and others and sees unity in everything perceives the absolute Essence.The absolute Essence is the One embodied in the spiritual maxim of ‘The One in many ; many in One’. The many are the players and the One is the match unity. With unity, the players merge into One. The One is the source of success or accomplishment. With the One, everything becomes pertinent or possible. There is therefore God-essence or Buddha-essence in the soccer match and in fact, in any form of micro-unity or subsystem of human togetherness and teamwork. The force behind the team spirit is unity.

Pantheism

 The One is the eternal and immutable absolute Essence. This absolute Essence may be designated as the God or Buddha or any other designaton. In actuality, such absolute Essence can not described with any linquistic expression. Unity is the God or Buddha which pervades everywhere. There is dharma-nature (dharmadhātu) everywhere including the soccer team. I have selected soccer as a metaphor to unveil the divine message of absolute Essence with a good reason. The reason is crystal clear: A good soccer team is constructed on the fundamental principle of team unity. Without unity, the team is disarrayed and the whole is broken into pieces. Only the whole can function but not the broken pieces. The unity in any sport game or match is divine and pantheistic.

If one were to vision religion in term of unity, one perceives Dharmadhātu everywhere. Dharmadhātu is the One expressed in the maxim ‘One in many ; many in One’. The One is the absolute Essence which may be designated with the Buddha or God or any other name. In fact, no word can describe the absolute Essence which is an eternal Truth of Unity. This vision of theosophy is scientific as well as religiously pantheism.

Common Message

The divine concept of Unity is expounded in the doctrine of Dependent Co-arisen Unity (Dharmadhātu-pratityasamutpāda) in Mahāyāna Avataṃsaka-sūtra of  Hua-yen Buddhist school. It is also declared as the Doctrine of Self (Dharmadhātu) in Mahāparivirvāṇa-sūtra of Mahāyāna tradition. It is declared as the doctrine of Non-duality (Advaita) in Vimalakīrti Sūtra of the same tradition. It is expounded as doctrine of Non-duality (advaita) in Vedānta of Hindu tradition. It is beautifully preached in the doctrine of Unity of Being (Wahdat al-Wujud) in Sufism. It is preached as the doctrine of the One (al-Wāḥid or al-Wāḥidīyah) in Islam. It is the ineffable Path (Tao) of intrinsic unity in Taoism. In fact, this concept of divine unity is also embodied in the doctrine of Insubstantiality or Non-self (Anattā) of early Buddhism championed by Theravāda tradition. This intrinsic essence of Unity was vigorously apologized by Mahāyāna celebrated philosopher, Nāgārjuna through the expedient device or skillful means of Emptiness (Śūnyatā) of inherent existence or the doctrine of Emptiness of Self-nature (Niḥ̣svabhāvavāda). In the ultimate analysis, no existence or becoming is possible without the divine force of unity. Behind the force of unity is the natural law of dependent co-arising by which all contigent conditions merge into a perfect harmony. No one exists solitarily ; no one is an independent island. This is the sole message delivered by the religious saints or masters since time immemorial. We ought to worship and venerate it as everything is intrinsically pantheistic.

Love of Truth and Neighbour

However, the combined physical and mental soccer skills of players are still not sufficient or adequate. Any sport psychologist will recommend that the entire team must be harmoniously unified in their human interrelations. The harmonious interrelations must be constructed upon the principle that every playing teammate or  comrade must treat respectfully each and everyone as important as he treats himself. In Christianity, the first commandment is to love the Truth of God which is Unity. The second commandment is to love one’s neighbour  as one loves oneself. A teammate or colleague is a neighbour.

Identity and Interdependence

This correlation is expounded in the first principle of Identity and Interdependence in the Hua-yen Buddhism. ‘Hua-yen Buddhist philosophy advocates the paradigm that all members (neighbours) of a team are identical. To be identical means that all members of the same team are equally important in playing a match or in any collective action. This is the Hua-yen’s doctrine of Identity. The notion of Interdependence refers to the Mahāyāna’s fundamental doctrine of Emptiness which is equated with the natural law of Dependent Co-arising.

 This principle of identity and interdependence is illustrated by the metaphor of Indra’s net of pearls. Each glittering pearl illuminates light upon all the neigbouring pearls. The neighbouring pearls also illuminate upon their other neighbouring pearls. This interpenetration of the iluminations of all the glittering pearls produce a unity of glittering multi-coloured scence of enchantment. This corresponds to the supremacy of the soccer team. Such a team is usually invincible and esteemed by their fans.

Power of Equanimity

When it is said that the strength of the team is further invigorated by the power of equanimity, it connotes there is neither attachment nor aversion. There should be no attachment to the infallibities of team-mates and aversion towards their fallibilities. Non-attachment and non-aversion create the power of equanimity. The power of equanimity is translated into tranquility and concentration of the minds of the players. Tranquility and concentration compose their minds and facilitate the players to discern fallibilities, and strategies of the opponents. This discernment is the wisdom supported by mental concentration and poise. It helps the team outwit the opponents by maintaining normal form of play in which the potential powers of all players are maximized. Wisdom arises from the mental non-diffusion. Non-confusion is the state of complete calmness when the team is pressured by the might of the opposing team. The team remains focused and committed to their targeted goal when things are getting hard. They perceive equanimously in any hard going. In conventional language, the team maintains their normal form of play under all adversities assailing them. They pro-act and do not react focusing their minds on playing well the game. Only the game is important and you and I are not important. Concentrating wholeheartedly on the game only and abandoning all personal feelings, a player will play brilliantly like a hero. We see that one-pointed concentration, non-grasping and equanimity are evident in the spirit of a good soccer team. In fact, Dharma pervades everywhere. This is a pantheistic world.

Universal Application

Thus, we see that Dharma is universally applicable in all compartments of life. The reason is obvious since unity is immanent everywhere. Disturbance, crisis or chaos mirror violations of the eternal Truth of Unity. Monotheistically put, disunity is rebellion against God or Buddha or the disruption of the law of Nature or Truth. It opposes Tao. Opposing Tao, one is doomed to failure. The Tao, God and Buddha are synonymous in the sense of Unity. The eternal Truth of Unity or Non-duality is governed by the natural law of Dependent Co-arising.

Immanence

Therefore, Dharma is not only engaged in daily life or business transations but also it can be gainfully employed in every domain of our lives. There exists Buddha-nature or Dharma-nature everywhere. Buddha-nature is immanent everywhere. From monotheistic paradigm, God is immanent everywhere. God pervades everywhere. This is the Truth of Pantheism. The eternal Truth of Dependent Co-arising is immanent in all micro-unities. All minor or micro-unities merge into a major or macro-unity. All the multiple major or macro-unities eventually merge into the total Unity of the infinite cosmos.

Microcosm and Macrocosm

 Each micro-unity is the Dharma-nature or Divine Nature of an individuation. The total Unity of the infinite cosmos is the borderless realm of the Tao, Buddha or God. Buddha at the individual level of human personality is called the hidden innate supremacy of man. The infinite universe is the outward manifest of the Tao, Buddha or God. Buddha at the level of universe is called the Dharma realm of Unity or macrocosm. The essence of the Tao, Buddha or God exists in microcosm which is the micro-reality of Man. The Essence of the Tao, Buddha or God also exist in macrocosm – the macro-reality of the universe. The manifest universe is only the shadow of the Tao, Buddha or God. The universe is unreal. Only the unmanifest absolute Essence of the Tao,  Buddha or God is real. All esoteric religions preach this identical Truth of Unity or Non-duality.

All are Spiritual

Pantheism operates immanently. Everything or every relation, minor or major, becomes sacred or divine. This is living the Truth of the Tao, Buddha or God. Only the One is real and the many is unreal and illusive. Only the borderless Ocean is permanent. The water vapours, clouds or rains are impermanent and mutable.  Whoever lives the eternal Truth of Unity or Non-duality elevates his life spiritually and secularly. Whoever transgresses the Truth invites downfall spiritually and secularly. Spirituality and secularity interpenetrate. They are mutually inclusive. Hua-yen Buddhist tenet expounds the inter-relationship between secularity and spirituality as the interpenetration between phenomena and Principle. The conventional truth and ultimate Truth co-exist interpenetratively. Spiritual wisdom obliterates suffering in the secular world which deludes and obsesses us.

Conclusion

Religions unveil the illusion of the multiplicity or differentiated diversities erroneously perceived by the worldlings. All individuations, signs, marks, characteristics, self-natures or inherence existences are unreal. Only the underlying Unity or Non-duality is real.The real is hidden and unmanifest. What is hidden or unmanifest is ineffable. Even though the material or secular world are illusory and unreal, the Buddha admonishes us not to reject them. The illusive knowledge of mundane world is of pragmatic value for communication and interaction among human beings and non-human beings and between them. The Middle Path should be adopted to live with the illusive and unreal conventional truth with the transcending wisdom of ultimate Truth of Unity or Non-duality. The wisdom of Non-duality protects us from mental corruptions. The mental corruptions are defiled actions directed by the superimposed self or ego. Life directed by self or ego is responsible for the fallibilities of human species. Whoever directs his or her life with self or ego is a sentient being from Buddhist perspective. It is an animal man from monotheistic paradigm. Whoever obliterates his or her self or ego is a Man of Perfection or Saint.

Editor’s Note:

Regard this article as a piece of literature as a comparative study of religions to promote and foster the universality of religions. Currently, there are too frequent clashes of civilizations implicitly or explicitly motivated by dissimilar religious adherences. Paradoxically, God or Buddha connotes inherence peace constructed on Unity. Without knowing the God or Buddha, no one can love unity and be really peaceful and friendly. Religions unveil that we are intrinsically united, peaceful and friendly. This is the quintessence of all major religions of the world. Disunity or conflict is anti-religion.